Sharon X-Mas Pudding

I got this newsletter from Victoria Boutenko the other day about Persimmons aka Sharon fruits. She writes about how nutritious and healthy those fruits are and shared some Christmas recipes.

There is one I just made now, and I feel so astonished about it! It's called Persimmon Pudding and all you have to do is blend 4 Sharons with 1 cup of water and 3 pitted dates and add a pinch of allspice. Blend very well, and then let it set for 15 minutes. I mean seriously, you would never have guessed what happens: it gets a really jelly-like consistency, as if there was gelatin or something in it! :) So now I will just snuggle up in my blanket and enjoy a Persimmon pudding deluxe while watching the snow fall...Hmmmm, yummy! :) 

Uhhhuh, 'The Cold Swedish Winter...

...is right outside, and I just want somebody to hold me through the night.'

Looking at that snowstorm out there, it's no wonder that Jens Lekman wants somebody to kiss and warm the pain away. But I LOVE it! Woohoo! Winter is finally here, and its just SO beautiful! I love the snow! There's a big white blanket covering this town, and its a real 'winter wonderland' if you ask me. Big fat snowflakes falling from the sky, covering everything up in fifteen feet of pure white snow... ;) Today I walked through Gamla Stan totally white, and it was just so amazing, the sky wasn't even as dark anymore, ha ha, it felt more like grey, and the white on the ground was reflecting the streetlights. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Something like that, just better (gosh, I really gotta bring my camera and take some pictures!) Then I found the Julmarknad, one of the Christmas markets, and my joy was complete. Like in a fairytale, I was so overexcited...I just wish I could have shared this with someone... :)

And right when the days are getting shorter and the nights darker, Stockholm comes up with the best film festival ever! The Stockholm Film festival is still running until the 30 November and I am trying to see as many films as possible! :) This weekend I was guest host for the Russian director Andrei Konchalovski and his wife, who came here to introduce his latest film 'Gloss', a critical observation of the (Russian) fashion industry and beyond. I had a great time making them have the best stay ever here in Sweden and I trust they enjoyed it :)

Tonight I have seen 'Rachel Getting Married', the new film with Anne Hathaway starring as an ex-addict messing up the wedding of her sister Rachel. Very convincing and touching, it was a great premiere and I even cried, which doesn't happen too often in films ;) It reminded me of Lars von Trier's 'Festen' at times... I still wanna see 'Julia' and 'Filth and Wisdom' and sooo many more! Hmmmmmm ... :) We are SO blessed! :)

So if you're around in STHLM now, don't miss the festival, it's SO great and enjoy the cold Swedish winter, its right outside, and maybe you even have someone to hold you through the night... ;)

Exciting Times...

...are ahead of us. We are in the middle of tremendous changes on this planet. The old systems seem to collapse bit by bit and a new consciousness is spreading rapidly. People seem to become more aware every day, and even though it seems a lot of things on this planet are getting worse, we must not forget about the dualities/polarities, which means at the same time lots of things are also getting a lot better. New hopes are arising in the west (US A's next president), the exploding raw food movement, eco-villages popping up everywhere, the hype about the Anastasia books and people realizing that their health is the most important thing, thus investing into raw gadgets, despite the financial 'crisis'.

My life has been transformed so extremely in the past few weeks and months, it is like living magically, manifesting and synchronicities are happening on a daily basis, we are creating heaven on earth from within! ;)

Since I started my gratitude journal of which I spoke about a few weeks ago, things have been continuously floating upstream, for which I am so grateful! We are SO blessed! :) I have also started to create a vision book, and things are just happening...its pure magic, this stuff really works. You can read all about it HERE.

Now that the days are getting shorter and the nights longer, it also feels like it is time to make oneself feel safe and sound at home, address old fears and patterns that keep you back and let them go, take lots of rest, reflect on your life, where are you now, what can you learn from past experience, where do you wanna go, what do you want to show up in your life? 

Reading Rilke and going for long walks in the forest also seems like a good idea ;)

I am currently reading lots of course literature on Ingmar Bergman, which I love, but in between I am totally taken by David Wolfe's latest book 'Amazing Grace', which I can recommend to everyone. You can get it HERE. In one sentence, it's about living in pure magic and tuning into the flow of the universe and it teaches you 'how to become a superhero and have the best day ever'! Awesome, loving it! :)

I am so excited and will share more in the near future hopefully.

Until further notice, celebrate everything! :D

ancient wisdom

'Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.' That is by William Shakespeare, but who knows, he got his inspiration from someone before him too.

The point is that the message is very powerful, we can let everything be as it is, as the universe, oneness, has delivered it. We needn't judge the situation, everything has being and purpose, everything is the way it is meant to be. Just let go and trust, then a higher power will come into play that will guide and protect you.

Many blessings, 

Nadja

Projection

I had a significant experience today: in a tutorial with my teacher, I felt really small and insignificant, almost stupid.

I got angry because I felt she acted smug and condescending.

Well, later on I remembered that no one can make me feel stupid, how I feel depends on the decisions I make and how I interpret my reality. She is not responsible for my feelings. My happiness does not depend on someone else's behaviour, but on my interpretation of it.  See Kay Pollak in his book 'Growing from Personal Encounters' or sth. like that. (I don't know the exact English term.) Happiness is a decision we make. I choose how I react, loving or in a negative way. This affects my feelings.

Thoughts have  a creative power. I am responsible for my thoughts. I can change my thoughts about myself and others. (Or I might even try not to believe anything at all and stop mentally labeling people and situations) What I think about someone else tells more about me than about the other person.

Philosopher's notes to be continued

haha, while listening to the free download MP3 file 'its not about the money' on the Philosophers Notes website earlier on, I remembered that I wanted to share some of my personal notes here with you. So now I will come back to that! ;)

Today I wish to tell you this: 

Instead of focusing on getting the LOVE, ABUNDANCE, PEACE and FREEDOM that you (might?) want, be the love, abundance, peace and freedom instead. 

This is because the universe constantly mirrors your beliefs. I you think and act like you already have what you want, you will get that. If you're in a state of wanting, or fear, the universe will always show you situations in which you will see your wanting. This applies to every aspect of your life, be it relationships, career, money, home, experiences....

Be the change you want to see in the world, and it will happen (as Gandhi has put it).

Gratitude Journal

There is something I really wanna share with you now, since it really excites me. :)

Its been a tough few weeks for me, lots of stress and worries and lack of trust and all. I think I was just demanding too much of myself and resisted feeling low or sad. That created lots of confusion and tension, and I created challenging situations in my life. Maybe there was a bit of a culture shock after all, which I just did not see as such. But now I have consciously decided to stop this destructive pattern and really life life to the full, trust in the universe and be blissful. 

Today, I had an interview with the staff of  Stockholm Film Festival this year, where I want to volunteer. It looks like I will take care of one of the guests like a director or famous actor visiting the festival. In the past years, guest were no one less than Quentin Tarentino, Eliza Kazan and Jean-Luc Godard! So this is exciting stuff! I will report more when the time has come. The festival will be from 20-30 November 08. 

This is just one example of how the universe constantly supports our goals and heart-felt wishes. Life is, after all, not out to get us, but rather wants our happiness. The laws of the universe bend for LOVE.

The universe is abundance, constantly wanting to give. We just seem to have  a problem feeling worthy enough to accept this for us and being properly grateful. 

Who do you like giving to? Those who are happy and grateful for it or those who are mean? I guess I know the answer. ;) So shift your focus from lack to abundance and start seeing all the great things you have in your life already, and just by being grateful for these, you will attract more of the good stuff into your life. The exercise is simple: go out and buy a special empty book to write in, and then make the commitment of writing 30 things in there you are grateful for, every day. This is incredibly humbling, helping you to stop, think and really appreciate life's gifts!  You get more of what you focus on! Energy goes where attention flows. Once you have made the commitment, more abundance will come into your life. This is FUN! I feel such high vibrations now, love and gratitude are the forgotten powers that can magically transform your life in no time! 

Happy creating! All love,

Nadja

Välkommen till Stockholm!

Hej!

Sorry for not posting anything for a while, I was just so sucked up in my new life in Stockholm that I barely had a chance to go to the computer for long. 

One day, just after my arrival, I went to the wonderful Café String in Södermalm and picked up some random magazine to read a bit. It turned out to be Stockholm's gay magazine, unfortunately in Swedish, but there was one article right in the middle, titled 'Welcome to Stockholm', which was in English. Reading it, I nearly peed my pants laughing! It was written in such a funny way, Swedes do seem to have a great sense of humour, even or especially if the joke is on them. 

So I thought I would definitely have to share some of the tidbits of this article with you.

By the way, I got to watch some Swedish comedy the other day, and it was hilarious! Here in Sweden, TV is peppered with comedic references to Sweden and its people, probably because they have such a clearly defined international image: 'They're clever! They're beautiful! They watch dull films!' ;) This makes them perfect for jokes (like in ''Will and Grace'' when Will relates to a group of unruly children: 'You guys want to watch four hours of Swedish cinema? Then behave yourselves!') :D

So coming back to the article, it says about Swedish perception in an international context:

'The ancient Norse mythology about hammer-wielding gods has been replaced by a modern naughty mythology about Absolut-drinking Swedes who love to throw off their clothes and have sex in meadows before going home to watch Bergman films and commit suicide.' 

Haha, there is something to it, since Swedes love what they call 'summering': as soon as the first rays of sunshine come out, people get their kits off and suck up the sun as much as possible, it comes close to a collective sunshine-worshipping-which is understandable, considering the fact that it almost never gets light during the winter, apart from a good four hours of daylight during the cold season. :)

Swedish men in particular seems to have a pretty distinct feminine side to them: they know about food, wine-and hair gel. Characteristics that might be taken as links to homosexuality-sensitivity, gentleness, creativity, a fondness for euro-pop-are considered normal masculine behaviour here. At least in Stockholm, straight men dye their hair, wear Gucci sunglasses, and regularly drop by the fragrance department at NK (a large department store here).

What I find most amazing is the absence of attitude. It goes against the national character to think that you're better than anyone else. They are just so-nice! To quote the paper again: 'The Swedish family is, on the whole, a happy one.' No one is excluded, everybody is treated equally-at least that is how it is meant to be.

As the article closes, a big praise on Sweden cannot be missed-naturally:

'Sometimes being in Sweden feels like being caught in the latest X-Men movie. Could Swedes represent the next stage of human evolution? They're that bit taller, that bit handsomer, that bit less concerned with traditional ideas of gay and straight. They even have a secret way of communicating with each other (its called Swedish ;). And in the summer months, when the light sparkles on the water and the sun comes up before 4am, they do what all good superheroes do: They tear off their outer clothing and race to where they're needed.'

I can only totally agree with that! So come on guys, get your kits off and come to the land of eternal sunshine on the spotless (Swedish) mind ;).

A New Place called home

Oh my god, this is so amazing!It is actually 5.03 in the morning, the first morning in a new country, my new home! I still find it hard to realize this, and I think it will still take some time until I can fully grasp the whole extend of what this means....home-Sweden. Wow. I just feel so happy and over-excited, I would love to jump up from my bed on the living room floor and wake everyone up and dance through the house and tell the world how happy I am! :) There is a constant grin that has manifested on my face and I feel like I could hug everything. I think I am in love - with this beautiful country. It was this I feel. I just opened my eyes and looked out of the window and saw the Swedish flag right in front of me, hanging sleepy and  a little wrapped up from a balcony in the mornings clean light, 

Misty morning barefoot rumble. I took a picture to freeze this moment in time and remember it forever. I am so happy.  The scenery is beautiful, picturesque. I am looking out onto the sea, it is a cloudy day, covered in bright light, misty, chilly, amazing. Some people are up already too, riding their cars to work, minding their daily business. Another ordinary morning for Stockholm, but the most exciting morning for me! I could cry from happiness, my eyes are all teary. Maria Taylor is singing in my ear and I just feel so whoa..... !!!

Yesterday was was almost unreal, it was like spending the day in a bubble. I got off the plane and talked to an Australian on the bus. Time flew, and suddenly Manne was there to pick me up. I was feeling rusty so I decided I just had to go for a swim, even though it was a little chilly and windy. After a short brisk walk we got to the stadhus and Manne dived in the water from a three meter high wall, very brave. ;) I took it easy and jumped in from the lower stairs. The water was pretty much freezing, but after a little while it just felt so rejuvenating and amazing!!!! What a panoramic view of the whole city from there, in the water. 

Some Indian tourists admired our bravery.  Eventually we got out of the water, changed and embarked on a quest for food and wine. We stooped at a bar and enjoyed a glass, then went into ‚Hemköpp‘ and bought lots of fruit and veg. Manne met a friend from school and she had a German guy with her! So we decided to meet up for tonight's karaoke. Its gonna be fun.

Now I have to get up as quietly as possible not to wake everyone up, which would be really tempting, but no,..they would only be annoyed.  And I wanna make a pleasant house guest after all. :) Really deep and quietly happy inside. I drift through the days like walking on a cloud. I wonder how long this love-affair will last? What does it matter, time is not important, as long as I am here....

Sverige, mitt stora kärlek! Jag älskar dig! 

Nadja

Goodbye love

It's always easier to leave than to be left behind....

Aint no train to Stockholm?

Hm, the days are going by so fast, in only a few more days I will be embarking on another journey, Sweden is my new home of choice! 'All my bags are packed I am ready to go, I'm standing here outside my door, I hate to say goodbye...' Well, yes, I am leaving on a jet plane, Stockholm is my destination. I am glad and excited, but also a little sad to leave my beloved ones behind here...but every new beginning inherits a magic spell, which carries us, protects us, helps us to live. This is what the great German writer Herman Hesse knew long ago, wisdom is ageless. 

...today I told my plans to the guy in my local organic health food store, and another customer overheard the conversation. It turned out that he produces Documentaries about people who are moving countries! :) Its just a shame that its too late now, otherwise I would have been on German Television as the girl who goes to Sweden, hahahaha. :)

The best days are not planned, by common sense, by lack of time...this is just another great example that we do not live life, but life lives us! If we just learn to let go and release our lives to the universe, knowing that it only wants our happiness, then we have the best day ever-every day!

And yes, Erlend, there is a train to Stockholm, and this time it is for me. ;)

A New Healthy and Vibrant Rawfood-Restaurant in Munich

Wow, this looks truly mouth-watering, doesn't it? Can you imagine that this creation is made all raw, vegan and cruelty-free?

Well, it is! You can now enjoy this amazing veggie sushi along with yummy salads, soups and health cocktails at the new raw and all-vegan restaurant and deli called SAF-Simple Authentic Food- in the heart of Munich, close to Marienplatz (the first city in Germany to have such an amazing place!).

Think super foods, detox, vegan,raw, vibrant, inspirational, wheatgrass, goji berries, healthy elixirs and smoothies, fresh juices, enzymes, alfalfa, herbal teas, coconut water, seaweed, well being, organic, aloe vera, pro-biotic, amino acids, fair trade, herbal remedies, natural beauty, bio dynamic, sprouts, vitamins....the list is inexhaustible! :) 

So its not just about the food! At SAF, you can be reading books and magazines as well as getting some natural beauty products, supplements, juicers and super foods to take home with you! They also distribute organic and fair trade T-shirts from the lovely Bioshirt Company. ;) With their shirts, you can really make a statement: 'I Love My Planet!' :) I think its a good idea to support them since they are a small company that really seems to care about Eco and fair trade matters. Check out their website! 

Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed while I was there, but the delightful Deli was open, offering us a great space to eat, relax, read and just indulge in some healthy hedonism. ;) The staff was friendly and the prices very affordable. We chose cocktails with green juices and aloe vera to start with, followed by various scoops of different salads from the 'buffet' and finished with some truly indulgent carrot/coconut/pumpkin cake and a cacao brownie- all vegan and life!!! No heating! ;) 'Eat cold and you'll become old' as the proverb goes :)

The only down point that really put me off and which I still want to mention here was that I think I noticed some white sugar in the allegedly entirely RAW cake! How dare they? ;) Don't they know that refined sugar is bad for you and that it does not belong into a healthy dessert? Whatever happened to agave nectar?!! 

Apart from this, I can totally recommend this place to anyone and it will be a rewarding experience. Look forward to some really nice (and budget!) food made with love and integrity away from the mainstream restaurant culture. Anyone to visit Munich, stop by, you will not regret it!

saying of the day

When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone.

(Tennessee Williams, 'Don Quixote')

Better Tate Than Never

As promised, now the first of the 'Philosopher's Notes' put together by Nadja! :)

I am so preoccupied with reading and writing at the moment that I find it hard to know what to begin with ;) I chose a quote by Eckhart Tolle, since his words are so profound and true at the deepest level. This one goes well with the Dyer quote I shared here before... Basically, stop the compulsive identification with forms and thoughts and observe reality as it is, here and now. Labels are for clothes, not for people! :) More to cummm soon! :)

''Identification with your mind creates an opaque screen of concepts, labels, images, words, judgments, and definitions that blocks all true relationship. It comes between you and yourself, between you and your fellow man and woman, between you and nature, between you and God. It is this screen of thought that creates the illusion of separateness, the illusion that there is you and a totally separate "other." You then forget the essential fact that, underneath the level of physical appearances and separate forms, you are one with all that is.'' (Eckhart Tolle)

Your Sacred Self

You are an internal spirit, not an American or A Chinese or an African. It matters not what sort of body you showed up in, where you arrived geographically or what religion you place after your name. There are no Buddhists or Christians or Muslims or Jews in the no-where.  Those are classifications made to distinguish us from one another in our present form.

Identities are found in a temporary phase in the parenthesis in eternity we call life. Discard these names and you will identify with the realm of the spirit rather than the world of ego. Then you are no longer willing to fight the fight your ancestors who have tried to convince you whom to hate and whom to love. You will no longer participate in the tribal consciousness in which you perceive yourself to be better than another by virtue of your birthplace or skin color. 

Your personal history has trained you in the ways of your tribe. These are limitations that you do not need to have. Let go of that identifications with the labels and choose a new perspective of unity consciousness. You are united with all souls. Their packaging or location is irrelevant. 
  
Those who are still stuck will call you as a traitor and an ingrate. You will be able to send them love and not take their guilt.
 
The cries of nationalism, tribalism and theism have been the source of wars and of slaughter of billions of human beings. you know in your heart, as do all who play out this game, that this is a violation of God's laws, that it is inconsistent with the teachings of all the spiritual masters who have ever walked among us. 

Yet the pattern persists. Why? because we hang on to our personal histories as if they were our true identities. Refuse to identify yourself with tribal label.

Seeing yourself as a spiritual being without labels is a way to transform the world and reach sacred place for all of humanity. Begin by making your decision to be free by letting go of your personal history.

When you let go of your personal history, You know that you are not your name, your body, your mind, your occupation, your relationships or your ethnic or cultural identity. So who are you? What is left is the invisible, intangible you.   
     
- Dr. Wayne Dyer

DestiniProductions

Maybe some of you are familiar with this You Tube channel called DestiniProductions, it is a girl delivering channeled messages which are really deep and a great inspiration for your life.

I particularly want to share this video today, since it really startled me. It gives totally new insights into interpersonal relationship issues. It resonates so true within me that I was filled with joy and happiness watching it :) Enjoy!!!

Make Raw Foods Mainstream! :D

One last remark for today: UK health food expert Shazzie (author of 'Detox Your World' and 'Naked Chocolate') has now launched a new campaign called Make Raw Food Mainstream! Wow, this is exciting! She calls it 'Raw Britannia' and has many items in her online-store. But the best thing is that she provides a free e-book which you can download and print out and give it to your favourite restaurants! The vegetarians had their way gradually, then some places started to incorporate vegan options, now its the time the raw foodies get their chance! 

It is a very inspiring little booklet with an introduction to the rawfood lifestyle and many comprehensive and easy-to-make recipes, from savoury starters over juicy drinks to sweet desserts, all raw and vegan and totally mouth-watering! Yummmm!!! 

So get on your bike and start spreading the word! :) Be the change you want to see in the world!

FREE Health Book Summaries and Philosopher's Notes! :)

WOW! I just came across a website where you can download the summaries of amazing health books such as Gabriel Cousens' 'Spiritual Nutrition' or David Woolfe's 'The Sunfood Diet Success System' for free! After registering, you get access to the site where you can download the summaries in PDF format and also purchase the whole book if you please.

You can do this HERE. I just downloaded 'The Biology of Belief. Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles' by Bruce H. Lipton, PhD. It sounds really amazing, I can't wait to start reading! ;)

Also, I would like to point out the Philosopher's Notes, something pretty similar, but about all the amazing books on personal development and spiritual growth you don't get the time to read, such as 'Loving What Is' or Eckhart Tolle's 'New Earth'! Very powerful stuff. You can download in PDF Format or as MP3. There are two issues to download for free too! Unfortunately, the rest costs a bit of money :(

Hence, I had an idea: I have so many 'spiritual' books at home in my bookshelf, with all the best bits underlined and highlighted, but once they're back on the shelf, I hardly grab them again to re-read things and so most of it gets easily forgotten again! ;)

So I decided to write these bits of condensed wisdom in my little notebook, to have it always at hand when needed. So far, so good. Thinking of the Philosopher's Notes, I have now decided to give you this bit of extra knowledge for free, for your personal happiness and fulfillment :)

After all, sharing is the greatest gift, and what you give you will receive. :)

So from now on, I will publish a note on a regular basis, from all the amazing books I have read so far...look forward to some inspiration dudes! 

All Love, Nadjaaaaaaa :)

An approach in pictures

F/STOP Leipzig-International Festival for Contemporary Photography

SO! Lately, I have been really busy house hunting for Stockholm, but in the meantime I had the chance to volunteer at the F/STOP Photography Festival a week ago. It was absolutely AMAZING!!! :) Many international artists have been invited, exhibited and discussed amongst high-ranking artists from Leipzig and the Academy of Visual Arts (HGB Leipzig).

There were three major themes running through the shows: the first one was called 'Closer: Vicinity and Distance in Contemporary Photography.' Themes ranged from abandoned items left in the streets of New York City, symbolizing a potential threat to health and safety to portraits of skinny and nerdy looking young people who were beautiful, but also looked like they needed therapy. ;) I best liked the series of the Leipzig based Photographer Anna K.O., 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'. She took portraits of fellow students at the Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts (HGB). Her direct way of stabling contact with her fellow students asks questions about interpersonal grievances and the division of society and the individual. 

Another thread was called 'Invited' and covered National and International Invited Shows. 

These images adressed very relevant and partially shocking themes, such as the exhibition 'Soul Stealer', which deals with young people in China who move to the cities and abandon their tradition of rice-farming, which might hence die out. Most appalling I found the portraits of 'albino' people, when I found out that there is a literal man-hunt in South Africa at the moment, since these people are supposed to have certain organs that are like aphrodisiac. I couldn't believe it! How cruel. I wonder what kind of people are capable of doing such things. Well, without empathy, anything is possible. I wonder, why do these people not use super foods such as maca powder for their libido. If they are in need of stimulation, at least they should not do it at the cost of other living beings, no matter if animal or human!

The last major theme was called 'Fallen', which has various meanings in Germany, such as falling, obviously, but also traps. Many of these pictures were rather funny and had a humorous approach, but one artist, Daniel Schumann, portrayed a lady in a hospice. The series was called Living While Dying, and the woman sitting in her chair observes people coming and going, while she has been there for more than a year now, just remaining in her chair, eyes wide open.

Left vs. right brain hemisphere and who we really are

This is  a truely amazing must-watch about a brain scientist who had a stroke that paralyzed her left brain hemisphere. Watch here which incredible effects this had on her entire being. 

It reveals who we really are and what we are capable of as human beings on this earth. Truely magnificient, it touched me to tears...

The Matrix

Is she 'worth' 900 Kronas?

Okay, I admit it, I actually am addicted to good music. I am still singing :)

So you can understand what I am so mad about, I will share the song with you. You can listen to it here.

Enjoy and tell me if you love Jens' music as much as I do! ;)

''Loves me, loves me not....

I wanna fill her heart with forget-me-not, so she'll think of me, in Barcelona...'' I am dancing my socks off all day already to that Jens Lekman song. I know the lyrics by heart now...just gotta practice the hands-clapping. ;)

Jens is not afraid to lend his heart out to a stranger. 'Wear your heart on your sleeves' is a common saying. But what if we get burnt each time we try to open up? Emotional pain accumulates and we build armor, in order not to get hurt again. Our pain is our armor. 

This must not be. Jesus said 'build your house on rock, not sand'. I think what he meant was that if we build our lives on 'sand', we are always dependent on outer circumstances. One disappointing phone call and our world crumbles. If we build our house on 'rock', which is unconditional love, then nothing can really harm us. He who loves has conquered the world! 

Those disappointments arise from the expectations we have on other people. In order to enter a truly healthy relationship, it is vital to understand that the other person can neither add nor take anything away from us. From this point, freedom arises. 

The illusion of a partner is, in most cases, experiencing the lack of interconnectedness with all things, as author and speaker David Icke explains. We want to be with someone so badly because we hope that (s)he will ease our existential pain. For a while it even seems like that, when we are 'in love'. But soon, the frustration comes back and often, we project it onto the other person. This is where the human drama begins. The point is to look at the lessons we have to learn ourselves from this. After all, we have chosen that person to learn a thing or two, and not to be happily ever after.

In the play 'Closer', one of the female characters says to the other about men: 'They love the way we make them feel, not us.' Or, in other words: they are not in love with a person, but with the anticipation of the emotion they're addicted to. We don't even know what real love is. These 'I love you' s don't mean anything if we are at the same time capable of despising someone so deeply for something (s)he has done or said that hurt us. It is not love until it is unconditional. Real love has no opposite and knows no fear, is not conditional and not limited to one other person. We barely love ourselves. How can we believe to truly love another person? This is a very deceiving illusion that will cause us pain again and again. I am not trying to sound like a locked-up cynic here, but rather trying to understand the motivations behind everyday behavior and hurt.

Why do women complain that men cannot commit? Maybe because they feel contempt for men. Contempt that has grown out of past disappointment and accumulated emotional pain that still lives inside of us. And people always act according to how we expect them to act. If we believe that men are crap, then we will always attract men into our lives that will confirm that belief. Hence it is important to de-condition from such destructive thought patters and see others with fresh eyes, from a heart perspective. Understand that we are always complete and whole and the other person's task is not to make us happy, but aware. Shift your inside from fear to love, and the outside will unfold accordingly.

Many blessings,

Nadja xxx

Less is more.

'It was raining outside, so I cleaned house today. Spent half of the morning, throwing old things away' is what The Mountain Goats from Sweden sing in their sweet twee songs. This is not really exemplary though, considering the new wave of ethical consuming and recycling that finally hits the masses. Yes, being eco is now 'in'. Corporations sell us hedonism without regrets, if the consumer wants it, (s)he will get climate protection and social justice on the shelf.

One example is the new campaign from Topshop: 'Topshop wants your rubbish!' Reusing and recycling old unwanted clothes is the new ecofriendly and concience cleansing campaign, in alignment with fairtrade labels and organic cotton clothes. 'Planet, Sweet Planet' read the T-shirts these days. This Marketing Strategy is called 'Greenwash', modelled after the term 'Whitewash'. Quite appealing at first glance, but are the corportions REALLY interested in saving the planet or is it not just all about making more profit? How serious are they really about their efforts? I mean, you can compensate your bad concience for regular flying by donating for a good cause in India, in some 'Human Energy'-project, in which the Indians are encouraged to use footpumps instead of diesel-to stop CO2 emission. Well, it sounds rather cynical to me... Also this hype about the so eco-friendly washing nuts from India: the demand for them in the Western World has grown so rapidly that the prices on the global market have risen to such a height that now the Indians are not able to afford them anymore! Now they have to use chemical detergent and pollute their environment even more. The opposite of well is meant well.
So is there no way out of this? Well, there is, but it might not be as sexy and eye-catching as bying T-shirts that say 'I used to be a...' It is simply to get informed (e.g. see the Channel 4 programme 'The Devil Wears Primark', of which the screening has now been postponed for some dubious reason...). And most of all: consume less, live more! I want to use this opportunity here to raise attention to the international BUY NOTHING DAY on Saturday, 29th November (UK).
Anyone can participate, it is about detoxing from consumerism and living without 'shopping'.

There is an article I have read long ago in a magazine, about Matt from Manchester. He wanted to move to London, but on the way, his lorry got stolen, with ALL his stuff in there. All he had left was the clothes he was wearing and his purse. It was not until then that he finally realised how much his books, DVDs and clothes meant to him. He decided to buy only the most essential things and became a minimalsit. Now he spends his money on going for meals with his friends and traveling :) Or Richard from Bristol, who quit his job with EMI to go to India and do a Yoga teacher training. When asked if he doesn't want a corporate job, for the salary and status, he added: 'Actually-no. It's about finding inner peace.'

I am not trying to patronize anyone here, I am not perfect myself. I just want to raise some awareness about the fact that everything we do and buy has an impact on our planet and the people around us. It is about making a difference, everyone of us, in the realms of each one's possibilities. We should be careful trying to compensate the feeling of spiritual and emotional emptiness with consumerism, since the gaping hole inside cannot be filled with more posessions but only with love and charity. We cannot solve our (global) problems with the same means we have created them. Go out and connect more with nature and the people around you. Build deep relationships that matter to you. Give more. Be creative. Love more. Keep it simple. Be there when people need you. Count your blessings. Take responsibility-for every area of your life.
Have the best day ever! :)

Be well.
One Love,
Nadja

aftermath

Life really flashed me today: I was writing about Kate Bush before...and ten mintes later I got in the car and turned on the radio...and guess which artist was playing! Yepp, Kate Bush! I couldn't believe it! It really showed me once again that everything IS connected and nothing happens randomly. The Universe is constantly communicating with us, the question is just: are you listening? :) 

another sunny day

HEJ!

This is the first post in my blog and I am happy I finally got round to do this since the idea has been growing within me since a while now. :) 

I am sitting here in my room listening to Radiohead, and a fresh post-rain/thunderstorm air is coming in through the open windows. The birds are singing and I am feeling goooood :)

This is the first time I am working with my new MacBook,  gradually getting used to it ;)

This morning, I signed up to the awesome rawfood online community giveittomeraw.com, a platform for people who love raw foods. It is hosted by the lovely Dhrumil, who has published this great quote by Eckhart Tolle which I would like to share here: 

Internal and External Worlds

"Internal and external are ultimately one. When you no longer perceive the world as hostile, there is no more fear, and when there is no more fear, you think, speak and act differently. Love and compassion arise, and they affect the world."

What does this mean to me? Basically, the outer reality is just a projection of our collective inner realities. If you live in fear, your outer reality will always reflect this fear and you will hence get the corresponding experience. Energy goes where attention flows. 

If you shift your inner reality from fear to love, the outer reality, i.e. experiences and people you attract, will ultimately change as well. You will attract more love into your life, this is a universal law: what you send out comes back to you.  And after all, things are always in transition, everything is movement, energy, change. When I started writing this post, clouds were in the sky and I was listening to Radiohead. Now, just a couple of minutes later, the clouds have cleared up and the sun is coming through and I am listening to Zero 7. 

Yes, I have been digging out some old tapes! I remember the days before the digital age, when none of my friends had a laptop, and we were listening to all our favourite songs on our parent's stereo, making mixtapes for each other with Kate Bush on. Hmmm, I am getting really nostalgic now :) Digital is NOT always better. In this fast moving world, some slowing down and returning to basics might actually do us good. There is a great deal of creativity lying in slowness. In peace and quiet, there is space for greatness. You get access to the potential that is lying within each one of us. Its just the constant noise around us and within us that disturbs. Silence is important. In this respect, I would like to refer you to the amazing artists John Cage (musician), Merce Cunningham (dancer) and Robert Rauschenberg (painter), who were very interested in silence in music and nothingness in art. But more about this next time, gotta go now :)

All Love, Nadjaaaa xxxxxxxx :)